The Owl
by pansies1995
Summary: Poor Anastasia. She doesn't know where she was from or who her parents were, but the only thing she does remember is that she murdered her own father. Shocked, her mother abandoned her to a secret organization called SHIELD, where they trained her brutally for years in the headquarters in Gotham City. One day, Ana faked her death and ran away to start over. Will Ana be successful?
1. Preferace

Asgard, long before the time the All Father has even existed, a great, majestic, and beautiful white Owl roamed around the land. He was the strongest and the fastest Owl in his tribe. Indeed, all the other Owls looked up to him for his snow white coat and great strength in battle. But he had done something terribly wrong through the eyes of all the Owls; He fell in love with an Asgardian. Her name was Nótt, the goddess of dreams. The young goddess had stolen the heart of the Owl with her extraordinary beauty: Bright green eyes, dark hair, and pale skin with a tint of gray… She was perfect. Every night, the Great Owl would swoop down and sing to Nótt, hooting of his deep and passionate love for her. His love deepened for the goddess as she blushed and giggled at his charm. The two eventually fell in love.

Both of them knew that this was forbidden love, yet the Owl had a plan. Around that time Asgardians suffered from bloody wars and riots, which killed many people and damaged supplies. To save themselves, hundreds of young Asgardians were literally sacrificed to go out of their homeland to find provisions. Yet, most (if not all) of them never came back. The Great Owl, seeing his chance to be united with Nótt, flew down and offered help. He said to Bor (Odin's father BTW),

"_I shall help thee for thy people_," He hooted, "_if only you let me marry one of your maidens! As strange was that sounds, I'm afraid I have been bewitched by the woman who gives dreams."_

Bor, doubtful but desperate, agreed. He allowed him to court Nótt, which both Owls and Asgardians did not entirely agreed upon. As a kind owl, he kept his word and went on a quest for ten days to look for food, provisions, and even some survivors. After those days had passed, the Owl indeed brought back tons of food and necessary items, and even saved a few survivors. The Asgardians were delighted; they threw parties and praised the great owl for his generous deed. They gave him gold, weapons, and rare jewels, but he refused to accept them, for he claimed,

"_I have already gotten what I wanted, my friends! No need for more!_"

He was referring to his lovely Nótt. The two had reunited after the Owl's quest and the handsome couple got married. Soon after that they had a son. The baby was weak and pale, yet the Owl was still proud and believed that he will make him the strongest of the Owls and the Asgardians. Nótt named him Otus after his father.

Yes, Otus floated and hovered like any other child of an Owl should, but he could not elevate more than five inches from the ground. His mother figured it was because he did not have wings like his father. In fact, he looked like an Asgardian, yet his abilities (singing and floating -so far-) was just like his father. Thus, Nótt sewed up a mystical cloak for her son, in replace of wings. Otus then was able to practice flying with his father.

Years had passed and Otus surely became a strong man. He was well respected, kind, and helpful. He lived among the Asgardians and even became close friends with Odin, the new king of Asgard. He even got a lovely wife and they were to have their new child delivered in a few months. The Great Owl and Nótt was proud of what their son turned out to be. Yet, as we all know, life is not dandy all the time, even for the gods. Realizing that one of their comrades has been accepted into what they thought was a forbidden society, the Owls (thousands of them) flew into Asgard. Luckily, the All Father approved of their migration and believed that the Owls and his men would get along just fine. Yet, Asgardians soon realized that owls had something that was be extremely useful: Flight, and their long enduring strength.

The gigantic and strong Asgardians caught fragile Owls and forced them to work as messengers and slaves. Even Otus and his father was enslaved and Nótt was banished into another realm of what we call the moon. Odin could not do anything about this since the enslavement of the Owls was such a big part of the society now. Also, he could not save Otus because was enslaved by the prime minister of Asgard, which was someone Odin would not like to anger. The poor owls flew day and night as messengers (Asgardian "facebook" to say LOL) and were used as enemy baits in battle. As for Otus's wife, she was able to deliver her new son safely. She named him Tyto and promised him safety, away from the bloody Asgardians. Unfortunately for them, when Tyto's mother went out to look for Otus, she was confiscated and her baby was taken away from her by the royal guards. Tyto was then given to the All Father and he knew from the baby's eyes that he was Otus's son. Odin took him in as his own servant. Tyto, also, grew up to be a strong man like his father.

Now, you may be asking:

"What the fuck happened to Otus and his wife? The Great Owl? Nótt?"

As for them, Otus died from being punished brutally by stones that his master threw at him for being disrespectful, which was ironic since no matter what Otus's master did or said, he would still come to work with a smile on his face just believing that his wife and son is safe. His wife was executed for not giving her half Owl son to the slave merchants and was buried next to Otus's grave. The Great Owl died from old age and brutal work and his wife weeps every night for her husband and children. Her ever lasting tears became the stars that we see in the sky.

Tyto eventually became a father and got Lupin. Odin especially liked Lupin for his ambition, speed, his mysterious personality, and skill. He was different than any other Owl because the way his body moved as he fought was unique. Smooth and light footed, yet his punches and kicks were fast and precise. Also the shade of color on his skin was different than the typical Asgardian skin tone, which made him stand out from the others. The all father thus thought of a plan to "breed" his kind. He ordered Lupin to go anywhere in the nine realms to find a maiden worthy and strong enough to have Lupin's child. Odin gave him as much time was he needed,

"_But_" the all father declared, "_you must bring a child to me before my own son, Thor, becomes men himself; I wish for him to have a great servant and soldier as you_."

Lupin agreed, and planned to go to Midgard, for the population there was numerous and, from gossips and myths, the women there were vicious and disobedient (most of the time), which meant that they were strong enough to please the All Father.

The Owl was transported down to a land called the Soviet Union. The country was filled with the sense of gloom and darkness. Also the weather was so cold that his own cloak was becoming chilled! He went around looking for shelter until be stopped at a small bar, filled with vodka drunken men. When he went inside, everyone turned around and stared at him. Awkward? Oh, indeed it was. To the Soviets, Lupin was a target…. He was different…. I mean, not a lot of **Asian **men came to the Soviet Union and casually walked into a bar with a fancy ass cloak around him like he's some sort of dictator or something. Alarmed, Lupin just smiled and turned around when a bulky man came and picked him up by his neck and flung him toward the other drunkards. Lupin was then tied down to one of the tables and the man next to him broke an empty bottle and pressed the sharp glass into his neck. He whispered into his ears in Russian,

"_You know, we don't trust __**special**__ people like you in my town_…"

Lupin by now was very alarmed. He sincerely did not want to hurt anyone on Midgard and it was only his first day! So he just kept still when suddenly the glass that use to be on his neck was gone…. and so were the other boozers. After listening to someone beating them to their boozy deaths, Lupin glanced up…. Until now, he has never seen such red hair! Her lips were rosy from the snowy winter and her petite body was strong and beautiful. Her bright green eyes shined at him as she offered him her hand. Lupin blushed, took her hand, and thanked her. She smiled, and walked away.

-FIN-


	2. The Beginning of a new family

It's been a few months now since Natasha and Lupin met. Lupin, totally forgetting his main purpose for why he's in Midgard, was wrapped in the warm and seducing love of Natasha Romanova. Natasha was also having a wonderful time with her new boyfriend Benni (short for Benjamin, nickname of Lupin). They have been dating for roughly four months now and both of them suspected that he/she was keeping something from each other.

It's true though. As we all know, Lupin is an enslaved Owl of Odin, the king of Asgard, and was sent away to make a strong and worthy offspring for his eldest son, Thor. If I rephrase that sentence, Lupin's plan is to "fuck" Natasha, make her pregnant, ditch the bitch, steal her baby, and go back to LaLa Land, so he could give it to a violent and ruthless dude named Thor. Think about it.

Same with Natasha. She's actually a Soviet spy. Her parents died in a fire when she wasn't even six. Then poor Natasha was turned into a secret government organization of the Soviet Union, where she and other orphans was brainwashed and harshly trained into an emotionless killers. Not only is she a blood thirsty murderer, she is also a talented lyer. As a matter of fact, she kept secrets and lies from her closest partners, bosses, and even Benni. Now the question is, does she love Benni as much as he does for her? It's true though that she did feel spark of true love and compassion when she met Benni for the first time, but would she kill him if the government told her to do so? (Not that he will though…)

A week after the crazy night of vodka and loud music, Natasha got up and ready for a mission important enough for the Soviet Union and herself. She was to kill a Shield member who supposedly stole top secret Soviet plans of attacks towards enemy nations. Natasha was told to get on the plane flight at 10 A.M. to America by her boss yesterday night after she and Benni had dinner. She was then ordered to return immediately after the mission. But something was wrong… Her world started to spin. The scent of her favorite burning candle made her so dizzy that she started to feel the sour tang of her vomit just about to come out. She tried to sit down and calm herself until she couldn't take it…. She sprinted to the bathroom and threw up for what it seemed like ten thousand hours. Natasha then had a feeling that she might be….. NO.

"_MOTHER OF GOD NONONONONONONONONONONONO….. No. Nope. Not gonna believe it. Completing this mission will help me and Benni to get out of this hell hole…._"

But Natasha couldn't help it. She carefully ran out to the pharmacy and bought a pregancy tester. Back home she preformed the test and waited…. It's 7:40 A.M. now….

Meanwhile, Lupin was getting ready to go see Natasha. He was going to surprise her with a ring…. a diamond ring. He read in the relationship 101 books that in order to marry a woman, one must propose to her with a diamond ring. So he used one of his golden coins that he brought form Asgard to get one. He got dressed nicely and went off to see her…. It was 8:00 A.M.

It was a positive…. Not much of a surprise but still, Natasha crawled up into a ball on the bathroom floor and started to cry. What is she going to do now? Because of the baby, she knew that she couldn't do the mission. Because of this damn baby, she and her first true love can't run away. Because of this _fucking_ piece of _shit_, her dreams were ruined. Just because she grew up to be a spy, it didn't mean that she enjoyed shooting people's brains out 24/7 and living with terrible nightmares of dead bodies that she recognizes…. since she killed them. All 150 civilians, guilty or not.

"_I hate you baby, I fucking hate you! You know, you're suppose to be my child, right?! Well, why don't you do mama and daddy a favor, and die?! You're my kid! Make mama happy and just die, damn it!_"

Natasha, because of the weird changes that the hormones of a woman's body does during pregnancy, was obviously going overboard. Oh, she's going on the mission alright. Since abortion is illegal in the Soviet Union, how about she "accidentally" gets hit on her stomach really really hard during a fight that the poor baby dies? Yeah…. That's what she'll do…. Natasha even knew that this was absolutely absurd but she was not going to change her mind. It was 9:00 A.M. now. She got ready, and left her home.

Lupin arrived at her door at 9:10 A.M….. Had he arrived ten minutes earlier, he would have stopped Natasha…. Lupin, no knowing anything, went inside. He was given a spare key to her house in case the drug dealers downstairs from his apartment started to get nosey. When he went inside, the whole house smelled like vomit (an Owl has superhuman scent abilities).

"Natasha? Where art thou? Nata…"

Lupin stopped in front of the bathroom. What is that small stick on the floor with a plus sign on it? Then he saw the box next to it. It said: "Women's pregnancy tester. + if pregnant, and - if not! It's just that simple!"

Lupin got up and ran out the door.

Natasha arrived at the air port.

He asked the next door lady where she went.

She got on the plane.

Desperate, he ran outside.

All good and ready, the plane took flight.

Lupin arrived to the airport and left frustrated with anger.

Natasha left the airport eagerly, and arrived in America.

-FIN-


	3. The Mission

Natasha arrived at Gotham City and headed over to the Wayne Mansion. It was rumored in the Soviet Union that the well known billionaires just recently joined a secret organization called SHIELD and hacked into one of the top secret blueprints for attacking the America inorder to protect her from trouble. Again, it was a rumor but the Czar wanted to be extra careful and told Natasha to eliminate the Waynes and come back with the secret safe at hand. It was now around 7:00 P.M.

Bruce Wayne, around his twenties, was eating dinner. He lost his parents when he was only eight and now he was just a pessimistic glob of depression who rarely even smiled. If he did, he would only smirk. Worried sick, his butler, Alfred, could only stand and watch him gloom by his side. He tried everything: nurturing him, taking him to parks, buying him some toys, etc. Nothing worked. He even did the whole Dr. Phil shindig and that didn't work either... It was around 8:00 P.M.

Natasha arrived right infront of the gates to the Wayne Mansion. She took the cab from the airport and that took her about an hour, so the cost was pretty hefty. She didn't care though, what mattered was the mission. She took off her thick jacket and inside she was wearing her usual catsuit but with the U.S.S.R. symbol on her right shoulder. She then got her shot gun loaded and ready. Natasha left her sniper back at home for a reason; she wanted to be "accidentally" hit on the stomach during maybe a hand to hand combat. She quietly jumped over the fence, prowled over to the front door, and looked inside the east side window of the masion to see if Mr. Wayne was there...

Alfred was cleaning up the table after Bruce finished. He then took the plates to the kitchen on the east side of the mansion. He was quietly starting to do the dishes when he felt the strange sense that someone was watching him...

Bruce was heading over to his room when he forgot that he left his notebook in the kitchen. It contained his finance reports and Wayne enterprises' tax budgets that Lucious typed down for him to look over. (My point in putting this in the story is that Wayne did not have any Soviet-super-secret-destroy-America plans with him.) When he was coming down, he heard the dishes crash onto the ground...

Natasha saw Alfred and figured that he wan't anyone important to her mission, so she...

"Now, how long must I pretend that I don't see you!" proclaimed Alfred, "Come out and we could sort this out somehow..."

Natasha crashed into the window and pinned Alfred down. The dishes that he was holding fell and broke into a million peices.

"Where's Bruce Wayne?!" demanded Natasha.

"Here."

She and Alfred looked up. Bruce was hovering over her like a giant and picked her up by her hair. Natasha tackled him. Bruce then grabbed her hand and pinned her down onto the ground again.

"Who are you and why are you here?"

"None of your business, you pimp-ass bastard!"

Natasha kicked Bruce's crotch and ran for Alfred. Taking him as hostage might make him spill the beans. What she didn't know was that the "weak" butler also had some tricks up his sleeves. When she came near him, Alfred fucking dojo tripped her and she fell on her stomach.

"AH!" she yellped.

Suddenly, she felt a strange guilt bubbling inside her. Did she just kill her own baby?... She just layed on the floor (covered in sharp peices of the broken china dishes BTW) and shook in horror... Her hormones were acting up again. She felt the bitter vomit coming up...

"Alfred, call the poilice while she's on the ground!" ordered the young master as he pinned her down. He would have gotten suited up, but she was too fast. Her attack was so sudden and careless that it seemed as if she... wanted to get caught, or something. Bruce knew that the mysterious lady was a spy judging by her looks and he was pretttty sure that she was a Soviet (looking at her right shoulder) who came to kill him or something... But then again, why?

"You're in a lot of trouble now, missy." He whispered to Natasha. "Now tell me, why are you here?" He got a kitchen towel to bound her hands while he waited for the police to come.

"Again," Natasha murmured, "that's none of your business." and she jumped up, shot open the window, and sprinted out. She totally screwed up. TOTALLY SCREWED UP. She probably just got her baby killed and lost all her money that she could have earned. Natasha stopped. Looked back. Bruce was coming after her. It wasn't too late. She took out her gun and pointed at him...

*SHINK!*

"What the hell...?!" Natasha's gun just got shot off her hand... By an arrow. She looked up and surely there was a man hiding in the trees, aiming another one at her. Clint Barton, A.K.A. Hawkeye. SHIELD member and he came to the rescue.

"Madam, if I were you I would put your hand behind your head and get on the ground."

Natasha smirked. She was not going to get caught this easily. She threw gas bombs on the ground and ran for it.

"Run, Natasha. Run. Run. Don't look back. Just run..." she whispered to herself. Her stomach was bleeding from the broken plates. She started to weep and tear up just by the thought that she might have killed her own child... She pressed her hands harder into her stomach, trying to stop the bleeding as fast as possible.

Agent Barton was near by. He was ordered to kill this Soviet spy, but... she really caught his eye. I mean, her expression killed him... He couldn't make himself to take a headshot at her... Whoever she is, he was sure that she could change. I mean, how much red can that spy hold in her ledger? By now, he guessed, not too much. Clint just stood and watched the woman run away.

Natasha found her jacket, wrapped herself around it, and ran out to the streets to find a cab. Luckily there was one just as she reached the city. As soon as she arrived at the airport, Lupin was waiting infront of the check out desks...

"Natasha, we have to talk."

-FIN-


	4. Anastasia Romanova

An Owl doesn't die easily. Lupin knew his child was safe. The baby is surely an Owl. She didn't die like her mother suspected when she fell on those sharp glass pieces back at the Wayne mansion. Natasha and Lupin figured that she was uninjured when she started to grow. By now, Natasha didn't have to explain in detail who she was behind his back… I mean, it's pretty self explanatory when she has a catsuit on with the Soviet Union symbol on her shoulder. And as for her job now? Because she failed a major mission, she was being chased after the government with an angry army. To escape them, Lupin and she snuck into a wool shipping train that went from the U.S.S.R. to Sweden. Putting that aside, the fact that her baby was still alright still shocked Natasha. An unborn baby doesn't just survive ten glass shards sticking deep inside her mother's stomach.

The wool train that they sheltered in was warm and safe. Either Natasha or Lupin said a thing to each other. They didn't pack much from back home; Money, a few pieces of clothing (including Lupin's cloak), some food, and a blanket. Natasha's stomach was now quiet large now. Once in a while, the baby would kick and turn as her mother struggled with morning sickness and huge eating problems. Natasha by now had bags under her eyes due to her stress and lack of sleep. Lupin was worried about her and he kept worrying about his whole purpose of why he was in Midgard. Was he going to leave Natasha alone after she brings forth the child?

"I think we're almost here…" said Natasha, "Look outside."

When Lupin peeked outside the small gap on the wall, he saw the snowy mountains of Sweden. He almost felt glad that they left the gloom of the U.S.S.R. because the aurora felt more pleasant and uplifting. It's about time for a change, thought Lupin.

—

"Evelina**" **and "Nikolaus" settled in a small home that belonged to an old Swedish woman who saw Natasha's stomach and immediately offered them her biggest room. The couple got privately married in the local church soon after they settled down. Despite all the things that has happened to them in the past few weeks, the two were happy they had each other. They gladly exchanged rings and kisses in their wedding and they even went to the city as their "honeymoon". Even though Natasha imagined her wedding to be more luxurious, she was still overly satisfied… She couldn't wish for anything else than to live a normal life! But, things began to change when the baby kicked. Not just the usual kick but a harder, more painful kick than before. It was around 9:00 P.M. when Natasha yelped, shook Lupin violently, and harshly whispered,

"Benni…..! The baby! She's coming!"

Lupin started to sweat like melting ice as he got his coat and Natasha's coat. He then gently walked her out to the near by hospital, about 30 min. way from home. The old lady didn't have a car…

"Oh great All Father, HELP ME." said Lupin desperately.

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT TO YOUR OWN WIFE, WHO'S PROBABLY SUFFERING MORE THAN YOU, YOU JACKASS!?" screamed Natasha, both in pain and anger.

When they arrived at the hospital, she was immediately pulled onto the gurney. Lupin stood and caught his breath as he watched Natasha roll into the emergency room….

—

After what is seems to be like a million years, a healthy baby girl- 7lb. 10 oz.- was born on December 14th at 3 A.M.. Natasha was exhausted as she feed the baby in her arms. She was thinking of a name for her baby daughter….

"Natasha!"

Lupin barged into the room she was resting in. She smiled and said,

"Say hello to your new daughter, darling!" Her voice was high spirited but cracking after every word she murmured.

A daughter… It was not a son but he was still happy. The All Father was most likely looking for a male Owl but he changed his plans anyway. After those long hours of waiting, thinking, and worrying, Lupin finally made his choice to never return to Asgard. He was not going to make his own wife and child suffer because of him. So he made a final choice to be a good husband, and that he was going to protect his new family, no matter what the cost would be.

"What should we name her?" he asked.

"Well… I couldn't think of much. All I could think of was my mother's name, Anastasia. What do you think?"

"Anastasia Romanova. Sound lovely…." Lupin came over to his tiny daughter and picked her up. At that time, he thought that everything would end like a fairytale with sparkles and magic, but life isn't dandy all the time… Even for Owls like him…

-FIN-


	5. Bang

Anastasia was now only one years old. She was an energetic and graceful child. She had her mother's fiery hair and jade green eyes. Her skin tone was pale like her father, and she had his hands; fair, but with a firm grip. Her facial characteristics were exceptionally beautiful, even as a child. Ana truly shined in the mist of other kids in Sweden.

As a father and husband, Lupin knew that he had to tell Natasha that he was an Owl sooner or later. As mentioned in chapter 1, every Owl's offspring has a tendency to hover in the air when they are babies. Lupin was lucky that he had some time to think- his daughter didn't even elevate a centimeter yet. He planned to spill out the guilty truth (his real name, where he was from, and why he on Earth) to Natasha after Ana starts to hover around. That didn't mean that he wasn't ready for the consequences, whatever they were to be. Lupin just clenched his teeth and enjoyed the moment while he can.

(In Asgard…. The All Father was furious.)

"HOW DARE HE HIDE FROM ME! THAT SELFISH BASTARD! NEVER HAS HE DISOBEYED ME IN SUCH WAYS!" thundered Odin. He was rambling around while Heimdall quietly watched, looking out into the distance.

"My king, be patient. The child of Lupin has been born…"

"WHAT?!" boomed Odin. The ground shook, jolting almost every Asgardian alive, as Heimdall tried to calm him down.

"My Lord, I am not finished yet. The child of Lupin is _destined_ to be united with your son, Thor, no matter what happens. The time **will** come, so be patient my King."

"By my father's name Heimdall, I certainly hope so." The All Father decided to not make any moves on his disloyal slave until the time comes.

(3 years later…)

"How could you keep such a secret from me?!" shrieked Natasha as she backed away from Lupin. She now knew… She _knew_ his name wasn't Benjamin. She _knew_ that he was an… **_alien._** She _knew_ that he had special abilities that exceeds her's, and she _knew _his real reason why he was married with Natasha in the first place. She started to shake violently as Lupin slowly walked over to her. Anastasia was hovering in the air as she watched her parents fight.

Just an hour ago, Natasha went to check on Ana while slept. She was holding her in her arms until she had an unpleasant surprise. She literally flipped the baby and the bed over when Ana started to float into the air. Lupin heard Anastasia cry and barged into the room. Looking at what happened, he knew it was time to tell her. And now he's regretting it very much.

"Stay away from me, damn it!" yelled Natasha.

"Natasha, listen to me!" Lupin yelled back, "I am not going to attempt anything harmful against you or our baby!"

Ana whimpered on the ground, confused and frightened. Lupin walked over to her.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER." Natasha pushed him away and tightly held Ana in her arms. "I am NOT letting you take her away from me…"

"I AM NOT GOING TO DO SUCH THING." said Lupin, "Do not do anything idiotic, my love, I'm begging you!"

Natasha was tearing up now. She ran to her drawer, opened it, and took out a small hand gun. She plopped Anastasia down close to her.

"Stay close to me, baby…" whispered Natasha.

Lupin had enough now.

"Alright, enough of this!" He slapped the gun out of her hand, landing it on the floor. Natasha started to punch and kick him while he struggled to pin her down. Screaming out names and threats, they soon fell onto the ground. Lupin landed on top of Natasha and looked for the… gun….? Where did it go?

"Daddy… What this?"

Lupin looked to his left and there stood little Anastasia with the handgun. Four years old and confused, she thought it was a toy.

"A… Anastasia, give your father the gun… it's no…"

_bang_

The next thing Ana knew, her father was bleeding unconscious on the ground. Natasha was completely silent. All she knew was that she had to get the hell out of there. Luckily the old woman was not home, but the neighbors, no doubt, must have heard it. It's not that hard to hear a gun shot and two people fighting. Her mind was racing. It was her fault. _She_ took out the gun... _she_ was careless. Now her husband was… dead? Whether or not Lupin was really immortal, she took Anastasia and ran outside. She had to protect her daughter. She had to get her out of Sweden. More importantly, she had to get Ana away from her. If they were caught, the police was bound to hurt Natasha and the her baby, and she would rather die than to see precious child get hurt… The first thing that popped up in her mind was that archer back at the Wayne mansion. He was a **SHIELD** agent, and he spared her life…. He was good.

Next stop, Gotham City….

-FIN-


	6. The Cirus

Child in arms, Natasha arrived at Gotham again. Now to head to the SHIELD headquarters.

"Mamma, where we go?" Asked Ana. Natasha didn't say anything, thinking of a fair excuse. From the airport, she took the taxi to downtown. From there, she went off on foot. The building was only about a block away.

"Mamma…?" Anastasia questioned again, "where we at?"

"Oh… Right. Um, we're going to see mamma's old friend." she claimed, "He's a nice man, so have you be nice to him, alright?"

"Okee."

"That's a good girl. A… And remember to eat your vegetables, and wash your hands after potty, and say 'please' and 'thank you', and…" Natasha stopped. Ana looked puzzled. Even for a toddler, she knew something was wrong.

"Mamma?"

"Baby, what's your full name again?"

"Anastasia Alianovna Romanova!"

"What a smart girl! Now, don't you forget that name, darling… Don't forget mamma's name too… What's mamma's name, Ana?"

"Natasha Alianovna Romanova!"

"That's so good, baby! What a good girl…" Natasha was almost at her destination. Her sight was getting blurry with tears. When she turned the corner, her heart skipped a beat seeing the big building with a huge 'SHIELD' banner on top.

"Ana, what do I tell you every night before bed again?"

"Ummmm, 'No matter what other person say, I is most important!'" Natasha started to cry… she tightly hugged Ana for the last time… She was now in front of the doors of the building… the doors of which she was going to leave her baby behind.

"This is for you honey, for your protection…. Mamma loves you so, so much….!"

Natasha rang the door bell, placed Anastasia on the ground, and quickly turned away. She kept thinking to herself, "_I did this… I deserve this…. I took out that gun… I am responsible, not her…" _

"Mamma!" begged Ana, "Maaaammmaaa! Maaaaammmmaaaa….mma…" her voice faded away as Natasha ran back to the airport, sobbing perfidiously…

Little Anastasia Romanova, abandoned, stood and kept screaming out for her mother. She couldn't go anywhere… Where would she go even if she took off? Back home, she could have walked up to any man and ask for help since she was only fluent in Swedish and Russian, but this was Gotham City. This was America, where people spoke English. By passers wouldn't understand her and she wouldn't understand them. Ana didn't know where the hell she was or what just happened. She was too young to understand anything. But then, the doors opened. From then on, Anastasia, four years old and abandoned, was to have her life completely turned upside down.

—-

Four years passed. Number 377 or Anastasia Romanova was a trainee at SHIELD. By the time she turns twelve, she would be able to have her own secret identity and costume, making her an official world-class spy. To prepare for this, very day and night she would train, and train, and train, take her "vitamins", and train, and train, and train, and train some more. But to hide the fact that Ana was being raised like this, Clint took her to school and sent her to ballet lessons every day. They promised to keep all this a secret too, just to be extra careful. Though he did all this for Ana, Clint was never the best parental figure for her. He would not let her hold his hands, feed her back when she was only four, or help her with homework, claiming that he didn't know what the hell that meant. But both Clint and Ana knew was that he loved her as his own daughter and that he would never let anyone hurt her.

Simply thinking that she was going to be a spy just like Clint was, Ana was kept away from the truth… the truth that when Barton opened the building door four years ago, Nick Fury had a different plan for her. Not the kindest idea, but a useful one. He planned to make Ana the best killing _machine_ SHIELD has ever had. Why her? Well she seemed to have some extraordinary abilities; floating, screeching, superhuman hearing/scent abilities, night vision eyes, and immediate healing powers, including immortality. So these "vitamins" that Ana takes were really iron pellets that made her joints harder to dislocate incase she might lose an arm or a leg during battle. They also make her flesh 60% bullet proof, causing less damage and blood loss. In training, she was given anatomy lessons by professors so she knew about direct weak points in the human body. Also, she got taught by Barton himself using the bow and arrow for long-range attacks. And in the case of close range attacks, Ana was taught wing chun, zui quan, and zi ran men by the greatest masters Fury could find. Everyone was amazed by Anastasia's skill and how fast it took for her to become so good at it. After all, she was the daughter of a great Owl.

Today was a special day though. It was Ana's eighth birthday and so Clint got two tickets to go to Haily's Circus. He thought that she needed a break from all that work. Luckily, Ana was close friends with a trapeze performer's son, Dick Grayson, who smooched off some free passes from Mr. Haily's office for them. He was a good kid, but the only problem was his chatty mouth that Clint always wanted to rip off. It was ten minutes before 3:30 P.M. so Clint went out to pick up Anastasia from Gotham Elementary. When he arrived, the birthday girl was impatiently hopping around, ready to go to the circus. She was going to meet Dick again! (The last time they meet was about three weeks ago. The circus went to New York for a show.)

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry, hurry!" she pushed Clint towards the bus station. Clint rolled his eyes.

"Alright, for Pete's sake! Hold on to yourself, Ana! Geeze… You're such a bother sometimes." said Clint.

"Don't be so dull, Clint, it's my birthday! I want it to be special this time, not like last time when ol' nurse Nancy made me a cake that tasted like that mush I have to eat all the time!" (the mush was a mixture of raw protein concentrate and well grounded fiber from vegetables and meat. It tasted like an undercooked cake with no flavor. Also it had this strange grayish color to it that made it look extra discussing).

"Hehe… That was a funny day."

"NO IT WASN'T. Now let's go!" She yanked Clint into the arrived bus and drove away. They arrived at the circus at around 4 P.M. Anastasia ran ahead to say, "Hi" to Dick. She arrived at his tailor, and knocked.

"Dick! It's me, Ana!" she yelled. Dick, hearing the voice of his good friend, barged open the door.

"Ana! I missed you!"

"I missed you too Dick! How was the show at New York?"

"Eh."

"Eh?"

"Yeah, I don't get why people love that place so much. It's just a bunch of lights and buildings. Same thing as Gotham, but a bit brighter." he suggested, "Oh! And I got you something!"

Ana brightened up. He clearly remembered her birthday! Mr. and Mrs. Grayson peeked over at the two youngsters.

"Happy birthday Ana!" Dick handed her a small silver necklace of a circus bear balancing on a striped ball. Ana fell in love with it. It was her first accessory that she has ever had.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" she said cheerfully. Dick, as ordered by his father, turned Anastasia around and put the necklace on for her. Ana blushed and went inside it look at the mirror. She smiled happily at Dick and gave him a hug. "Thanks Dick. means a lot to me!"

"Oh, you look so lovely, Ana!" said Mrs. Grayson, "I picked it, by the way."

"Mooommm….." whispered Dick, "not now…!"

"Goodness, sweetheart! did you get taller already? My golly, time flies! How old are you turning? Eight? Dick already became eight on March! Oh right, we invited you over for cake, right? Hahahaha! My memory is getting worse by the second! (and more jibber jabber..)"

We can now say for a fact that Dick got his talkative mouth from his mother. Ana smiled and listened while poor Dick was turning red from embarrassment.

"Come on, Ana. Let's go see the animals! See you mom!" and he dragged her away.

"Ok! Be careful and come back at five, alright you two?" Mrs. Grayson called out to them, "And don't get too close to the monkeys!"

The children met when they were only six. Anastasia ran into him when she was out grocery shopping with Clint. It turned out that he and his parents were out shopping too. The two quickly became friends and they hung out almost all the time. Ana would sometimes sneak out of school during lunch time to see him, not only to play with him but to see him and his family perform too. The Flying Graysons were the stars of the show, and Ana never got sick of watching them swing dangerously from one hand to the other… Yet, sometimes the circus would be gone to do shows in other states so he could be gone for months sometimes.

It was near five now so the Ana and Dick, after feeding the tigers, scrambled back to the trailer to get ready for the show. But while they were running back, a suspicious man caught Dick's eyes… He has never seen that man before and he swore he knew everyone in the circus by now… Anyways, Dick ignored him, thinking it was a new crew member. Ana ran back to Clint who was eating a hotdog and started to drool. She didn't eat anything since school ended, so she was pretty hungry. She turned around and spotted the cotton candy stand.

"Can I have some cotton candy?" she asked.

"No. It'll make your ass fat." he claimed.

"It's my birthday, you jackass piece of shit!" Ana had a language problem because of Clint. She was sent to the office once because she called a girl the "C" word and he was sent to parenting school for a few weeks. After that, he tried to limit his swears to "ass" and "whore" and "bitch"….and "bastard"…. and "shit". That didn't make it any better, so they made a promise to keep the cussing to themselves, and boy, do they swear A LOT.

"Watch your mouth, Anastasia." said Clint, very ironically.

"You're the one who taught me all these words, so just get me a goddamn cotton candy for bitch's sake!" It was true, so, Clint got her one. He sometimes gets surprised on how well she uses her swears. When they finally went inside with their free passes, Clint noticed Bruce Wayne on the very front in the V.I.P seats. He use to work as a body-guard for him about a year ago, but had to quit because he had to look after Ana. He tried to keep himself unseen since it would make him extremely uncomfortable and awkward if they meet in the middle of the performance. They chose the middle row seats on the opposite side of where he was sitting.

"Hey! It's that one pimp, Bruce Wayne!" she whispered to Clint.

"Yeah, and he has _another_ girl with him..."

"Not surprised. He has a new one every week." Clint smirked and rubbed Ana's head.

The grand performance finally started! The host came out and introduced himself, lights flickered with various colors, bears balanced on polka-dotted balls (bears were Ana's favorite animals, so she loved this performance), and tigers jumped through fiery rings of death! Ana loved every second of it. The elephants, the dancers, the magicians…. But what she was really waiting for were the Flying Graysons! The last performance for the night.

The performance started out smoothly. Mr. Grayson jumped first, then Mrs. Grayson, and Dick came last. He swinged and jumped around in the air as if he was actually flying. The crowd "aaahhhh...!"ed in response. Richard Grayson, only eight year old, was a child extraordinaire. He already flew like an experienced acrobat so many people at the show tonight came just to see this little tyke do his daring performance, 40 ft. off the ground. When he finally jumped back to his base, his parents were getting ready to do their act. Swinging back and forth, Mrs. Grayson jumped and caught her husband's hands when…. SNAP! The rope ripped. The audience gasped and shrieked. Dick watched his parents fall and land with a crunch and splat... He saw their tiny blood drenched bodies and suddenly felt sick. He climbed down and immediately threw up. He saw everything... From the snap of the rope to the horrid death of his own parents. Dick Grayson was now an orphan.

-FIN-


	7. The Owl

The crowd screamed. Women covered children's eyes or ran out. Some even threw up on the ground or ended up splattering it all over each other. The circus was a complete disaster. Ana was shocked, but freaked out like the others. She's already killed and seen people being killed as a part of the training program. Clint told her that it was necessary when she becomes a real member of SHIELD. No one should be life sparing when it comes to a mission. Dick was on the ground… Frozen, not knowing what to do. He didn't even cry. Ana tried to run over to him, but seeing that they had to get out as quickly as possible, Clint grabbed her and ran out.

They arrived back home. Well, would _you_ call it a home? SHIELD towers? A single room down at the basement? A cell, basically? It is to Ana. When you enter the building, you first take the elevator down to the lowest level, where all washing rooms are. Of them, there is one different room that belonged to number 377. The room (or rather, "home") had a bed, a closet, a small sofa, a bathroom, a table, a bookshelf, a lamp, and it even included a TV and refrigerator. Now that's fancy (sarcastically). Ana's room was not colorful with posters of "Justin Bieber" or "One Direction" all over the walls or had boxes of story books and toys like most kids did. Everything was… white. Very boxy. Not a hint of creativity or color was seen in these rooms. This was Ana's "home".

Clint pulled her inside her "home".

"You ok, kiddo?" he asked.

"Y…yeah… But, Dick's parents died…! We shoulda brought him with us. Keep him safe…"

"It's his problem now."

"CLINT!"

"ANA."

She didn't mutter a word. She simply sat down on her sofa while he walked around. Clint went over to her desk and picked up Ana's only toy, a small polar bear doll. It had a blue fish on his mouth, which made it "colorful" above all the things that she had. Ana eyed Clint. She hated it when he touched her stuff without asking. He threw the doll over to her.

"To me, Ana… Hey, listen to me while I'm talk'n! Anyways, to me… When it comes to these kinds of situations, you… you're the most important to me. K? So stop complaining and feel thankful that you're not hurt…" Clint felt uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed saying a cheesy thing like that. He was never a good, "Dr. Phil".

"You know that I can't get hurt…"

"Can't you still _feel_ something from getting hurt?"

"Well… yeah, but…"

"So just do what I say! Look, I really hate it when I see you in pain!"

Ana smiled at him. She loves it when he gets all shy from telling her that he cares for her! She went over to Clint and wrapped her arms around his leg.

"I love you too, Clint."

Clint, hearing this, smiled and hugged back. This time by swinging her around.

"Now get washed up. You smell like vomit and elephant shit. It's time for bed."

Dick, now Bruce Wayne's ward after the bloody deaths of his parents, went to all the same schools with Anastasia over the years. They were probably the closest friends in Gotham by now. Once you put those teenagers together, it would turn into a bombardment of giggles and non stop talking. Everyday they would meet at 6:30 A.M. at the park, and they would laugh and goof around until they arrived at school all wheezing and tearing up. The two also had most of their classes together and Ana would go over to Dick's house after ballet practice, so basically they were like two peas in a pod. Anyone who saw them would say that those two would always be great friends, and it would be close to impossible to split them apart. She even knew Alfred and Bruce very well. But, there are obviously some darker sides of even the most trustworthy friends… especially for Ana.

Now fifteen years old, Anastasia was changed to an official SHIELD spy. She changed in characteristics too; more serious, more stronger, more sharper. Just as Furry planned, number 377 was truly becoming the ultimate weapon. It all started when she turned twelve years old. Not only did she become an official SHIELD agent, she also got her own secret identity, like Clint. Starting with multiple time- straining tests on her body structure and powers, their goal was to create the perfect uniform for number 377. So doctors, mechanics, and scientists all came together to perform this grand project. First, they planned figure out a way to make it possible for her to fly. Flight test after flight test, along with multiple models of mechanical wings, they finally created a fire and bullet proof hooded white cloak which spreaded out like wings at her command. It turns out that Ana had an ability to store her powers inside gold, making it float and form into any shape. She even found it useful to store some of her powers inside some gold pieces that she carries around with her, so she could use it when she needed more energy. Thus, they used gold infused thread for the pattern on the cloak. Also, as another "eye" and a grapple, they made a separate scarf (white with golden thread) so she can use it to attack the enemies behind her. As for her mask, it was black with two golden circles for her eyes, and a "V" on the bottom where her mouth is. The mask had detective vision and the mouth piece enhanced her screeches. It including a walky talky, an underwater breathing device, and a gas mask. Because her motions in battle uses much of her ballet skills, the designers made her ballet shoes with a footed bottom, so her feet didn't get too messed up. At the end, when number 377 wore the finished suit, they had to come up with a name. Since her abilities closely resembled an owl's common actions, they thought up a simple name, The Owl.

Fury's project was now complete.

-FIN-


End file.
